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Why You Should Start a Human Resources Blog

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The benefits of blogging

Sure, a lot of those are personal blogs. But there’s a business benefit to blogging, and the most successful businesses understand that blogging is vital. Thirty-six percent of Fortune 500 Companies use blogs to expand their business’ online footprint, a number that’s only growing.

A human resources blog can help your company grow while providing free advertising for your business. All it takes is a little time and a little knowledge to get started.

3 reasons you should start a human resources blog.

There are a lot of small reasons you should start an HR blog, and I could list them all out one by one.

At the end of the day, the biggest benefits fit under larger headings: They help you, your candidates, and your business.

1. Blogging helps your candidates

When you interview a candidate or read their cover letter, you want to get the impression that they know what they’re talking about. Not just in terms of the job skills they need, but in their knowledge of your company.

But it can be surprisingly difficult to get any good inside info on a company. Unless your website takes the time to discuss your company’s culture from an employee perspective (rather than just a client perspective), candidates may struggle to find more than a few buzzwords to describe your office and their desire to work there.

This can even turn great talent off before they ever get to the application!

An HR blog can help great talent help you by giving them the info they need, so you can both make an informed hiring choice. A good HR blog takes the time to explain what the company’s culture is like using concrete examples (such as specific perks or interviews with current employees), while also providing insight into how the company’s mission impacts everyday employee life.

And if a candidate gets to the interview and still knows nothing about your company? At least now you’ll know it’s not because your website didn’t offer enough info.

SEO can feel very mysterious, but there are tricks to mastering it. I’ve included a great tool to help you find keywords below, but start by shifting your way of thinking.

What is your ideal candidate Googling? Probably how to get a job in their field of choice, right? Search for a related keyword, then write a blog post about it! Include a lot of helpful information, and some links to your company’s career page and other resources.

When you find a keyword, make sure to include it in both your blog’s headline and your metadata, the short blurb of text that follows the headline on Google and explains what the post is about. That simple step will begin improving your search engine ranking right away.

Topic ideas to get you started:

Want a Job in [Field]? Read This First

How to Get a Job in [Field]

3. A blog humanizes you

You know your company. You see your team every day, so you recognize them as real people with a range of feelings and emotions. You know the daily ins and outs of working with them.

Your candidates don’t. They see your company as a big picture, with mysterious inner workings. They don’t know your team, and they don’t know you. That can make an interview more intimidating, and more difficult.

A blog can help give your organization names, faces, and personality. If you run a goofy, lighthearted office, a blog will communicate that better than a sentence in a job posting. If you’re an emotive group that weaves your personal and professional lives into workplace conversations, a blog will show that in ways an offhand comment in an interview cannot.

Writing about yourself, your team, or even just in the first person can humanize you and your company, and, in turn, reduce your candidates’ interview nerves. That leads to better interviews and more great employees.

Topic ideas to get you started:

What I’ve Learned By Working at [Company].

Going to [industry event/job fair/conference]? Meet Us There!

Free tools to use

Now that we’ve looked into the why, let’s take a brief look at how you can run a successful HR blog.

Blogging, especially when you’re a newcomer, can seem a daunting task. But the big industry secret is using good tools.

Every blogger has their own toolbox full of useful apps, widgets, and websites, and there are a lot of choices out there. But the most important ones help you write better, edit your content, and manage your website more effectively.

A few great, free tools to get you started:

CoSchedule Headline Analyzer: If you’re struggling to craft a great headline with your must-have keywords, this tool can help. You can use it as many times as you need to get a high-scoring, catchy headline.

Hemingway App: Verbose writing at a high complexity level may seem nuanced and sophisticated to you, but everyone else just wants you to get to the point (see what I did there?). Use this app to keep your writing simple and clear.

Google Analytics: Remember when I said I had a tool for SEO? This is the biggest one. Google Analytics is a free tool you can use to find which keywords work on your blog, which ones don’t, and how to make the most of each headline and post.

WordPress (and plugins!): If you’re going to start a blog, you’ll need a website to host it. That’s where WordPress comes in (you might even be ahead of the game and already use it to host your website). WordPress really shows its strength in its available plugins, which let your blog do interesting, engaging, and useful things that set it apart from the crowd (while making your life easier on the back end).

Get out there and start your own human resources blog!

You’ve got the tools and a few tips; it’s time to get started! Create that blog, get posting, and drop a link in the comments below!

Have questions? Comments? Some ideas you’d love to bounce off a real person? Drop me a line below, or tweet me @CapterraHalden.

If you liked this article, why not share it on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to spread the love and grow the blogosphere!

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About the Author

Halden Ingwersen

Halden Ingwersen writes about HR and eLearning at Capterra. She’s a graduate of Agnes Scott College and a TEDx presenter. You can follow her on Twitter @CapterraHalden, just don’t get her started about her zombie survival plan.